Twilight Sparkle ✨

This is relevant to my interests. This is just wishful thinking but it would be cool if you could make a dynamic theme that changes from day to night depending on the time.

 

I'm sure that could be accomplished with some Javascript. I'll look into that.

 

However, it would mean adding another set of background images to load - I'm not sure if it can be done without slowing the site down.

 

Grendo, this is looking great so far. Remember to make sure that the background can be extended vertically like the current one and is at least 1920 pixels wide.

Which brings a bit of an inconsistency to light, because in Over a Barrel Pinkie specifically stated that their diets were "strictly vegetarian." So was she pulling a grey applejack and being untruthful?

 

I don't see Pinkie Pie as the untruthful type. But that said, she did make that claim in the middle of a song, and it's easier to get away with an exaggeration of the truth in a song than during natural conversation.

 

Here's a crystal-clear 1080p shot of AJ's sandwich. Can anyone think of any vegetarian food item we might possibly be mistaking for ham? Because if you can, that would explain everything.

There is such thing as a vegetarian hot dog. It's disgusting, but it does exist. But then again, we've got to realize that all these ponies we love live (at least mostly) on a diet of hay, grass, and flowers, which are disgusting to humans but probably like bread and butter to them. So it's possible that veggie dogs might be a common food in Equestria. But that doesn't explain Applejack's ham sandwich...

 

Assuming that AJ's sandwich really did contain meat, that must mean that ponies keep some kind of livestock. A barn inhabited with cows was briefly shown, which implies that ponies have enslaved cows and keep them for milk - and presumably, meat. It's a disturbing thought considering that ponies are technically herbivores, and seeing how their world lacks war, hate, and racial prejudice, but I see this as the most rational explanation for the ham sandwich (and probably the hot dogs, too).

 

If it wasn't for the sandwich, I would've chalked the hot dogs up to Pinkie's general insanity. But looking deeper into it, ponies in general may not be as nice as we think...

Banned 'cause I just came home from school.

Banned 'cause I've had seven and a half hours of school so far today, and still have two left to go.

Banned 'cause I got myself a new avatar.

Start over.

aka Ephesus. FS - eff ess - Ephesus. Geddit?

 

Yello, everypony. I'm a blue pegasus whose cutie mark is a quill drawing a spiral pattern. Reference by a friend, a less good-looking one from me (mild epilepsy alert).

I'm an experienced writer, unbound dreamer, explorer of the mind, proud thinker of the unusual.

 

I know Peter from a few other forums, all of which I have now left, as well as DA. I believe I also know some of you, but my brain is in no condition to recall any names after hours of knowledge-absorbing.

 

FS, you joined here! It makes me happy to see you again - it's been a while since we last had a chance to talk.

 

I don't think I need any introduction, seeing that we've been friends for almost two years. Considering what that forum has sunk to over the course of the past few months, I really think you'll find MLP Forums a refreshing change - I'm going to take as much care of it as TheWiiU.com, but I feel it's a forum you'll better be able to get into knowing your interests.

 

There are lots of great discussions happening here (mostly about ponies, but you'll find a few about the real world, too), and I know how much you love a good, civilized debate. I hope you have a great time!

The admin/mod position will be given out on an invite-only basis. We will not be accepting applications for the position, and attempting to apply will reduce your chances of getting invited.

 

We watch over our members and their activity constantly to try and get a list together of people whom we think will make good moderators. When the time comes for new moderators, we will contact one of our "candidates" privately, explain the responsibilities of the position, and give them a chance to accept or decline.

 

Choosing moderators in a public way only leads to jealousy, resent, and rage in my experience. So we won't be choosing mods that way.

I've always been a PC kind of guy and have never personally owned any Apple products, but Apple's influence in the technology industry - no, the world - is undeniable. Even though I'm not a fan of Steve Jobs's way of passing everything his company made off as a revolution, he does have my respect for having helped to build Apple into what it is now. He's left behind one hell of a legacy.

 

But with all that said, Apple will continue to thrive even without him. Steve personally trained Tim Cook over the past three years to be his successor, and I have every bit of faith that he'll do his best to make Steve proud.

I see the CMC sorta like the Simpsons' kids: Bart's been in elementary school, getting detentions for how many decades now? And yet, I don't think he's quite lost his charm yet.

 

If they don't run out of good scenarios to keep the CMC crusadin', I think they'd make for a good set of "constant" characters whose antics you could always count on to entertain. They give you an "ooh, what are you gonna break on your quest for cutie marks today?" feeling.

 

But that said, they already dropped a major hint that the three all have a purpose they're eventually gonna live up to in The Show Stoppers. So I wouldn't count out the possibility of them finding their cutie marks this season.

 

I'd like to see the CMCs get their cutie marks this season, I really don't think it should be dragged out too long.

 

What I'd really like to see is just one of them getting her mark while the others are still blank flanks. This could set up a good story line about jealousy, acceptance, and what it means to belong to a small group like the CMCs. This could then provide opportunity for another story later on when the second one gets her mark, and the final one of the three is still blank. That story could explore her disappointment, jealousy and the importance of not abandoning friends even when you've achieved all your own goals.

 

EDIT: It would be a nice touch if, at the end of this storyline, the final blank-flank somehow gets her cutie mark as part of learning that particular friendship lesson.

 

Also, my doppelgänger, that was brilliant.

Banned 'cause we've gotta keep attracting new ponies to MLP Forums.

Hello there, Whooves/Rarity/John!

 

We've already seen each other around the forums, but I wanted to officially welcome you to MLP Forums, seeing as I invited you here personally.

 

It's great to see you here and so energetic about the community. To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting much when I casually told you about this place over on IPS's forums. Glad you like how it all turned out, and I hope you stick around for many more discussions to come!

 

Let me know if you ever need anything. By the way, I also think it's awesome to have a fellow IPS fan here - most of our members haven't even heard of the beauty that is IP.Board before.

I'm not sure if this has been said before, but maybe we can have a different selection of ponies to choose for the loading animation. Like if you prefer Derpy, Applejack, Rarity, etc. then you can choose those.

 

That's going to get unnecessarily complicated to program into the board for such a trivial detail. It's not gonna happen. The most it might come to is Rainbow Dash occasionally getting swapped out for somepony else.

 

True enough. There are ways to get around that, but the amount of effort required would be enough that it'd be a bit pointless for a loading graphic you're only going to see for a couple seconds at a time.

 

The fact that you're staying conscious about bandwidth and loading times is good to know, at any rate.

 

Honestly, you've got to keep in mind that it's just a little loading graphic. But I think the fact that a topic was started about it and we're discussing having the possibility to change it is a testament to how much personality it adds to MLP Forums.

 

It's not bandwidth I'm concerned about - I've got oodles of it. It's the end-user experience. A simple approach to achieving random loading ponies would require a different pony to be loaded every time the AJAX loader appears, in addition to whatever content it is that's loading. This may result in a "blank" loader as the pony loads, and the content may finish loading before the pony does, meaning you won't see any pony at all.

 

A more sophisticated approach would involve pre-loading all the different ponies using Javascript. But that would mean an extra 100-200 KB to load every couple of days as your browser refreshes its cache (as well as the first page of any guest's visit). Not to mention that it would add some execution time, which probably wouldn't be very noticeable, but will still slow every single pageview down somewhat. Let's also not forget that mobile browsers handle all of IPB's JS slowly enough as it is.

That plushie looks great, Katrilli!

 

I would say that the eyes are a bit too big, but then again, when AJ's only two inches in size and you're hand-sewing the whole thing, criticism becomes that much harder to give (especially considering I hardly know anything about sewing myself).

Another option... depending on how flexible IP.Board is, it should be fairly simple to make it use a different, randomized image per use; as below.

 

 

http://usuallydead.com/zoop/gif/rotate.php

 

That can be achieved through some Javascript or PHP (as is done with that particular image) - IP.Board's flexibility has nothing to do with it. However, it won't happen for one main reason:

 

The loading GIF itself has to be loaded. Using just one pony for it allows your browser to cache the image after loading it just once. If we were to use a different image every time, that means it would have to be re-downloaded every time. In other words, you'd be adding an unnecessary 7-10 KB to load every single time you hover over a username, preview a topic, check your PM's, etc.

Go Octavia! Not only do I love her design, but I've been a fan of great classical, orchestral music as long as I can remember (having gone as far as to write a 9-minute orchestral piece myself). The cello is definitely one of the more majestic, powerful instruments in the orchestra, and I see Octavia's personality reflecting her instrument.

 

Also, add me to the list of people wondering how the hell she plays it with hooves.

 

off topic(but I need to know: how do I post images on here? do they have to come from google or can I use ones on my hard drive?)

 

If the image is from another website, press the picture of a tree in the editor and paste in the URL to it. I'd also recommend trying out the attachment system from the "full" editor page (click "More Reply Options" at the bottom of the page).

I'm really happy to hear you guys like having Rainbow Dash as our loading pony. The alternative was a boring green thing with three flashing squares in it - switch to the default IP.Board theme to see it.

 

It's quite unique to have a loading avatar that's actually themed specifically for the forum and not just like...text saying "loading"

 

I absolutely love it.

 

But a question: Will it always be Rainbow Dash or will it possibly change at any point?

 

It may change at some point. We haven't really decided yet.

 

I agree, nice job on all the little details like this. I've never been on a more visually stimulating forum ever.

 

And uh... you can keep the RD loading icon up forever

 

Thank you so much! I made the theme, but I don't consider myself a designer by any stretch of the imagination, so it's great to hear that you love the work we put into it. I was originally planning to someday hire a professional designer to make us a better theme, but now that just seems like a waste of money seeing as everyone loves my theme so much.

 

Yeah, I love it too! It decreased my loading times by 20%, and can load a page in 10 millaseconds flat!

I doubt it'll ever change, unless the loader can change with different skins, but I don't think this forum type supports different skins... Though I could be wrong.

 

I've never heard of a forum engine that doesn't support multiple skins. Try to "Change Theme" button at the bottom-left corner of every page.

 

Pinkie with instruments loading theme at some point. Hoping for it.

 

Maybe. I like the sound of that.

 

Or maybe a customizable option?

 

"Which loading character would you like?"

 

RD isn't my favorite character (despite my signature...)

I actually prefer Rarity (but if Luna is in that Haloween episode... Who knows?)

 

But as of now, considering how new the forums are, I'm perfectly OK with Rainbow Dash as the loading sprite.

 

That's going to get unnecessarily complicated to program into the board for such a trivial detail. It's not gonna happen. The most it might come to is Rainbow Dash occasionally getting swapped out for somepony else.

I'd start with a thread first. If that goes over well, maybe the admins will agree to a debate section.

 

^ This. ^

 

But I honestly don't think it's worth having a dedicated debate section - a "Debate" prefix in the Everfree Forest should suffice. Get a good debate going, and ask me or Kurt to give it the prefix.

 

Well, I think 50% of Show Discussion is that. But.... I agree with Kinvara's idea. Make a thread, then the subforum.

 

We're talking about debates that have nothing to do with ponies.

 

I always enjoy a good debate! This would be a great idea! If mods agree, why not just make this the debate thread and move it to the everfree forest.

 

No, this is a feedback thread meant to provide direct feedback to me and Kurtiss. If you wish to discuss something else (e.g.: have a debate), please start a new thread.

 

Just to play devil's advocate over here...

 

I like the spartan board layout they've got here. While having specific boards (or sub boards, for that matter) for specific topics of discussion may seem like a great idea, I've seen a lot of forums that end up having a lot of specialized boards with very little activity; in which cases they do little more than clutter up the index.

 

Rather than requesting such a board be made right off the bat, I think the better course of action would be to show that there's a sufficient level of demand and interest for and in such a board by starting and participating in discussions that would fit it.

 

You hit the nail on the head, Zoop. Every dead forum I've seen has always had waaaaaaaaaaaaay too many sections for its own good. A dedicated debate forum would, honestly, probably not be worth it. The last time I saw a debate section on a forum, it was on life support.

 

I'm especially hesitant about adding new sections that have nothing to do with ponies. We're an MLP fan forum, not a political community. As I said above, the Everfree Forest with a "Debate" prefix should cover your debating needs adequately.

 

It sounds pretty good...

 

Although of course in any debate there will be the parasprites that are always just too hard to resist feeding. They are too busy buzzing around causing mischief to even bother to use common intelligence to know they are doing wrong.

 

Right now, where really the only people on this forum are all good people; this debate forum would be pretty cool!

But after a while, once this site gets more popular and filesize limits go down (you have to protect the server somehow...)

A debate forum would be really bad.... And there will be alot of colorful language and metaphors that wouldn't be appropriate for the MLP community, and most definitely would not fit in with the MLP Universe.

 

So just like Kinvara said, you should just start with a thread.

 

What you're describing with colourful language sounds more like a flame war than a debate. If too much colourful language starts flying around, restrictions on it may be introduced, posts will be edited, and people will be banished to the moon. Don't worry about that.

 

Also, forums and posts are little more than plaintext stored in the site's database. 20,000 posts are about 10-15 MB, so filesize should be the least of your concerns. What may go down with time is the attachment limits, but that's besides the point.

 

Trolls will be trolls, regardless of the subject matter. So what if a few bad apples were to pollute otherwise serious debate threads/boards? Deal with them the way you would any other trouble maker: report them and move along.

 

Yes, if you see anyone causing trouble, do not reply to their posts. Submit a report and get on with your life, or you may just receive a warning yourself.

 

I don't see how a single thread could work, honestly. There are so many different topics and issues that could be covered in a debate forum (or sub-forum) that a single thread would feel either like too much of a clusterfuck or too closely centered around a single topic. I think that having a subforum for Serious Discussion, Debates, and Current Events would work well. The three together allow for more than enough different topics as long as people post there. And if they don't, it'd be simple to remove.

 

Solution: have your debates in the Everfree Forest and prefix them with a "Debate" tag. I think that's a happy medium for all of us.

It's kinda hard to start a nice reputation with no avatar or signature.

It kinda didn't help me in my situation since Introduction Sub-forum didn't count posts too.

 

That may be, but really, 5 posts is honestly nothing. Start your intro thread, take part in a few pony discussions, then upload your avatar and enjoy being a full member.

 

The way I see it it's more along the lines as a prevention against people who join but never post or who post once and then leave. Often times they'll upload an avatar, maybe a sig and then those files just sit there on the server not doing anything. Given, in the grand scheme of things it's a very small amount of space but after a while it begins to add up and there's no reason to risk it if you think a forum might be around for a long time.

 

^ This is exactly what I explained a few posts back. ^

 

Admittedly, the avatars really don't take up much space at all, but if we have 1000 members of which 200 uploaded an avatar and have made 0 posts, let's do some math:

 

200 members * 50 KB avatars (on average) = 10 MB of avatars

10 MB = 10 million characters

 

Assuming the average post consists of 500 characters...

 

10 million characters / 500 characters per post = 20,000 posts.

 

So, I'll have the equivalent of 20,000 posts sitting on my server, doing absolutely nothing. And I'll need to keep those 20,000 "posts" there for all eternity. My server's hard drives are large enough for 10 MB to still be next to nothing in the grand scheme of things, but I'll still have the moral responsibility to hold on to the avatars of 200 people who contributed nothing or almost nothing to the community.

 

Besides, as I said, it creates a nice feeling of progression. Look at these two posts - it had the intended effect on TwilightSparkle and Lupus:

It's a good point. I think it was still ten posts when I joined and I had my avatar and signature within half a day. I felt it added something to see myself go from blank-flank to member.

 

It made me investigate all the forums to see what was going on there and find something interesting to say. Also gave me time to work out a proper username for myself, and screen-cap an avatar that spoke to me.

 

 

Wasn't it 10 posts...?

 

 

Either way, my avatar was definitely worth it.

 

And 100k is alot of data for an image! (Mine was 83k I believe... And my siggy is a little over 2MB WHICH IS HUGE for an image)

 

This is free data space! The least you could do to earn it is participate in the community a little!

 

If anything, I think 10 posts (or now 5 posts) is too little!

 

It was 10 posts, but we decided to put it down to 5 and remove the limitation on editing your profile as a Blank Flank.

 

As I said up above, server space really isn't an issue for me - the fact that I allow unlimited attachment uploads up to 50 MB in size each should be proof of that (that said, my server's hard drives are not unlimited - use the space freely, but do not intentionally abuse it by uploading a 10 GB PC game or something).

Hi, I'm CorruptDashie. I'm a newbie here at the forums. So... What's up?

 

Hello there, and welcome to MLP Forums! We're all newbies here - the site opened less than 72 hours ago.

 

I'm Twilight Sparkle, one of your two admins, and also the owner/administrator of our server. If you ever need any help, feel free to get in touch with Kurt or myself anytime.

 

I hope you enjoy your stay!

This site hasn't even existed for 72 hours yet. Spambots simply haven't had the time to discover it yet. And when they do...

 

...we've got the IPS Spam Service on our side. That thing has stopped over 1000 spammers at TheWiiU.com - it works wonders. Clearly, most of you haven't been to many IP.Board forums before.

Let us have our beauty sleep!

I'm not sure how IP Board does it's thing but, how about special ranks? Any considerations?

 

We have a proper pony-themed ranking system planned, but it wasn't completed in time for the forums' launch. We want to do it well, complete with special badges for each rank. I decided it wasn't worth having one at launch if it was only going to be a half-assed list of ranks entered into the ACP in two minutes.

 

Neights Templar ftw. If only because it sounds the coolest.